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Privacy

Introduction

The Department of Finance seeks to adhere to the Guidelines for Federal and ACT Government World Wide Websites developed by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. In particular Finance seeks to comply with the Information Privacy Principles (see Glossary below) in the Privacy Act 1988 (a copy of the Act is available at COMLAW the legal information retrieval system owned by the Attorney General's Department).

This page explains the type of information that is collected by Finance, how such information is used, and under what circumstances and to whom it may be disclosed. If you have any privacy concerns, you should direct them to the webmaster by emailing feedback@finance.gov.au or by writing to:

Information collected

Your email address

Finance will only record your email address in the event that you send a message by email or if you register requesting notifications. If you do not want your email address to be recorded by Finance you can send postal mail to the address above.

Your email address will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it and will not be added to any mailing lists without your prior consent which Finance will seek by way of a specific request in writing. Finance will not use or disclose your email address for any other purpose, without your prior written consent.

Clickstream data

When you visit this web site, our Internet servers make a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:

No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except, in the unlikely event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the Internet Service Provider's logs.

Google Analytics

In addition to web server logs, this website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Inc. ("Google"). Reports obtained from Google Analytics are used to help improve the efficiency and usability of this website.

Google Analytics uses 'cookies' to gather statistics about how the website is accessed. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers located outside Australia.

Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of our website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google's behalf.

By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner described in Google's Privacy Policy and for the purposes set out above. You can opt out of Google Analytics if you disable or refuse the cookie, disable javascript, or use the opt-out service provided by Google.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file sent by the Department of Finance's web server onto the user's web browser software when the user accesses this web site. An explanation of cookies generally can be found at the site of the Australian Privacy Commissioner.

Some parts of this web site may use a cookie to maintain contact through a session. The cookie allows Finance to recognise you as an individual as you move from one page of this web site to another. This cookie will expire on the close of your browser session or on the closing down of your computer. Our copy of your information will be automatically deleted within 24 hours after you last access the web site. This information is analysed to show broken links in our web site, bottlenecks, and other site problems. We use this information to redesign for efficiency of use. No attempt will be made to identify anonymous users or their browsing activities unless legally compelled to do so, such as in the event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the Internet Service Provider's log files.

How we collect information

The Internet is an insecure medium and users should be aware that there are inherent risks transmitting information across the Internet. Information submitted unencrypted via email or web forms may be at risk of being intercepted, read or modified. If you do not wish to email or send an online form to the Department of Finance you can send a postal mail to the address above.

The Endorsed Supplier Arrangement (ESA) application uses 40-bit Secure Socket Layer Level 2 (SSL2) encryption to minimise the risk of data being intercepted and read as it is being submitted to the Department of Finance.

Other areas of the Finance Internet site do not provide secure transmission of data.

Information disclosed

Information provided to Finance will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it and not disclosed to any other party unless stated as otherwise.

Financial Viability information submitted as part of an Endorsed Supplier Arrangement (ESA) application is provided to Australian Business Research (ABR) for assessment and will not be provided to any other party.

Graduate application information is sent to Finance's Human Resource Services for assessment and will not be made available to any other party and will only be used for the purpose for which it is intended.

Other sites

This site contains links to other sites. Finance is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such web sites.

Glossary

Domain name - The code for the country or type of internet connection a user comes from, such as '.com' '.gov' '.au' '.uk'

Information Privacy Principles - 11 principles established under section 14 of the Privacy Act 1988. Commonwealth and ACT government agencies must comply with these principles in their handling of personal information in their possession. The principles can be accessed at COMLAW, the legal information retrieval system owned by the Attorney General's Department.

Internet Service Provider - A company or organisation that provides access to the internet for users.

Law enforcement agency - An agency of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory such as the Australian Federal police, which exercises powers such as executing a warrant to seize documentation or goods or to search premises etc.

Notification - Automatic advice of new or updated material available via Department of Finance, provided to a user who registers for this service.